The Night Before the Sunrise
by Anyra
Summary: Based off Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. This story is about a girl and her nightmare of a life and how her story ends up tying in with the now 16 year old Brian's. Rated for good reasons! R & R!
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Note: _This chapter is basically for some of the people who haven't read this book recently, and its just kind of a review. If you already know the book really well then you can just skip this chapter completely. And I am warning you one last time: _this story is NOT for kids. _So if you're a stupid little kid reading this just cuz it says not for kids, I hope I scar you for life. Anyway, I'm not usually like this… I just am trying to steer their little minds away from 'naughty' things. Hope you enjoy!

**The Night Before the Sunrise**

_Chapter 1_

_Three years._ It had been three years since the plane crash that tore my life apart. I was 16 now and hadn't seen another human being for three years. The thoughts scared me. I couldn't help but wonder how this could be affecting me. I had seen shows and books about kids who were abandoned or neglected and they ended up pretty crazy. One girl was so neglected that she turned to dogs for love and affection and acted like a dog more than human. Eventually after she was found some scientist brought her back to a humane status but she still stayed in a mental home… I briefly wondered if I was sort of like that. I thought of some animals as my 'friends' but not that literally. I shook away my thoughts; there were chores that needed to be done.

I scrounged around my campsite to find enough wood to keep the fire going. It was still cold out but the winter chill was starting to die down. I could feel spring coming, just like I had felt winter coming the first time I had to go through it. That was a very rough time. I wasn't as experienced as I was now. That encounter with the moose still had me shaken. I had only had a few incidents or near incidents since then. Once, I came home from an entire day of hunting and a bear and her cubs were eating all the fish in my fish pool. Luckily, none of them saw me and I backed out of their sight and up a tree, just to be safe. Another time I had been stupid enough to try to steal some goose eggs from a nest I found on the south side of the lake. I soon found that both the mother and father geese will protect their nest fiercely and are not afraid to bite with their toothless yet painful beaks. I chuckled slightly at the thought of a fourteen-year-old being chased relentlessly by an attack goose. Those eggs were good, though.

A snap of a nearby twig jolted me from my thoughts. I quickly grabbed the stick I was reaching for and stood up clutching it together with the rest of tonight's firewood. I scanned the area with my eyes and watched wide-eyed as a female moose revealed herself to me. The moose munched quietly on some of the shrubs that had been uncovered as the snow melted. I just sat there frozen until the moose made it's way past me and was far out of sight. I returned to the shelter soon after that and prepared for supper with two of the fish I had found on my lines. Soon after a fulfilling dinner I crawled into my sleeping bag but left the deerskin quilt off for the first night since fall. It was getting warmer.

I stared at the slowly dying fire and tried to fall asleep but couldn't. I felt that I was missing something. Something was coming. I had no idea what. Eventually the work of the day caught up to me and my tired mind forced me into sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's Note: _Okay now I'm warning everybody, this chapter is pretty dark and depressing. And if it doesn't make sense I promise it will all come together in a few chapters.

**The Night Before the Sunrise**

_Chapter 2_

_There is no sunrise without a dark night before it._ Arin forced herself to think as tears flowed down her face. She huddled in the corner of her dark room and prayed for the night to end. She couldn't see the entire room in the darkness but knew from the half month of being confided in it that it was empty. The only thing in it was her. She squeezed her eyes shut and forced her mind to imagine light or even color of any kind. Anything would help in the darkness. Unfortunately, there was darkness and depression in her mind too and nothing in her thoughts could help except for the one saying she had taught herself: There is no sunrise without a dark night before it. And without that dark night to steal hope away the sunrise would never be as beautiful as it always was now.

She scanned the walls with her hands as she had learned to do and found the one window in the large room. The glass was cool from the hint of winter that lingered still in the air. She let her hands slide down to the windowsill where nails had been pounded through the soft wood of the window and into the sill beneath it. The nails were colder than the window in more way than one. She was trapped inside this room. The window was sealed and she couldn't break it with her bare hands and the door had a padlock on the outside and was also to hard for her to break through. She gazed through the window, her night-blinded eyes begging for it to reveal any kind of light. Her heart sank as she found nothing. She crawled back to her corner, gathered her full skirt in around her, and held herself in a tight ball. She cried silent tears for as long as she could before exhaustion took her into a deep sleep. Even then she saw nothing but darkness in her dreams.

She jumped as her mind registered fear even before her ears could comprehend the sound she heard. It was the lock. She let out a whimper as her mind reviewed what was coming through the door. She pushed herself against the wall hoping it would somehow keep her farther away from the door that was now creaking open, flooding the room with light. She shielded her eyes and listened to the footsteps as they entered the room. The sound of soft rubber soles against the hard wood floors was all she heard as she watched the dark silhouette of a boy move in front of the light before her. The figure stepped out of the light, behind the door as slid it closed quietly. Her eyes struggled to focus as silence filled the room. A warm hand met her cold sweaty one and she jumped at the touch.

"Hey Arin," An overly happy yet cold voice said. Arin slapped the hand away and huddled back into a ball. "I'm afraid I'm gonna have to ask a favor of you, Arin…" The drunken voice said. She kicked into the darkness and hit what she thought was the boy's chest. She darted away into another corner, forcing her bare footsteps to be silent. She heard a belt unbuckling and being slid out of it's belt loops as the voice continued. "Now, Arin, lets not have to do this the hard way." Soon after came the snap of the belt against its owner's hand. The sound sent shivers up Arin's spine and a small gasp escaped her lips. Another snap of the belt took her by surprise as pain jolted up from her ankle. Strong hands grabbed her and pushed her to the ground. She smelled alcohol as the boy forced himself on her and started kissing her neck. There was nothing she could do now except gaze over his shoulder through the window and wait for the soft rays of the sun to end her living nightmare.

_Author's Other Note: _Hey, I warned you… now I am really hoping to get responses in this: _Please _review oremail me if you seriously think any of my story gets too graphic. And just so everyone knows I am _TOTALLY_ for women's rights and I hate, hate, _HATE_ guys who even remotely do anything other that cherish their girlfriends. And if I find any guy (even if I've never met you before) who has hurt his girlfriend or any girl I will personally deal with you in the way of my choosing. Girls, this is my personal message: _You have the power to choose how far to go or if you want to even go at all… Besides who needs guys?_ I know it's kind of 'yeah we've heard it before' but seriously… this is a good rule to keep in mind.


	3. Chapter 3

_Author's Note: _I hope everyone's okay after the last chapter. This one isn't as graphic. Please read, review, and enjoy!

**The Night Before the Sunrise **

_Chapter 3_

_Arin woke up to the dim light that filled the room._ Her mind instantly buzzed with everything that happened last night. She trembled as her arms ached from where Pete had held her down. She pulled her skirt back where it belonged and smoothed it out in a state of panic then she examined her arms. They had obvious bruises on them where he had grabbed her; she covered them and shivered in the middle of the cool room. After a few moments she got up and stretched. She gave out a small yelp as a searing pain drove into her side. She lifted her shirt to find the exact pattern of the belt reddened and bruised across her side. As far as she knew he hadn't broken any ribs, but she was really hurting. She took her place back in her corner across from the door and examined herself further.

She was pretty thin but still sort of strong from struggling against Pete and occasionally John but only when he was drunk. Pete just came and did whatever he wanted to her whenever he wanted to, whether he was drunk or not. Pete was a ruthless 17-year-old she had liked in high school and John was his 'best man'. When Arin first met him she thought it was cool to have an older guy like her, especially since she was new this year. He had invited her to a party and they ended up in the back of the old van he had bought off from some plumbing company. It had no windows in the back and the third row of seats had been torn out and replaced with a small mattress. She cried lightly as she remembered how at first she was happy but soon scared after Pete wouldn't stop. She remembered how she had begged him and tried to get away but he was too strong. After he was done he just left closing the cloth curtain behind him. Then he called John.

She was jolted out of her thoughts yet again by the lock. She turned to wait for the door to open but hesitated. She didn't want to see. She buried her face in her arms as they rested on her knees. She heard the door squeal open and footsteps as someone stepped inside. The steps approached her but the voice they belonged to remained silent. They stopped a foot from her as stayed there. A hand landed gently on her shoulder with a soft voice to match.

"Rin? I brought you something to eat." Arin's heart warmed and her head shot up.

"Matt!" She smiled. He was the one joy in her life for nearly month. Matt put a finger to his lips and whispered.

"The guy's don't know I'm in here." She tensed; Matt still had his hand on her shoulder. "Sorry." He said quickly removing it. Arin could almost say she loved Matt but after what Pete and John did to her, were still doing to her, she would never trust a guy's touch again. Matt got dragged into this whole thing. Pete and John had the whole thing planned out before hand and when Peter called John, John persuaded Matt to come too. Matt had sworn to her that he didn't know exactly where he was going. He just remembered that John said something about getting to 'know some girls'. As shallow as he had been to come, Arin considered it a miracle on her part that he did. After Matt had figured out what was going on he tried to convince Pete and John out of it but Pete had been drinking and had a gun so his argument didn't get far. He came with though. That part Arin still didn't understand.

"So, how about that breakfast? Are you hungry?" She quickly nodded and Matt got up and grabbed a plate from outside the doorway and brought it in. The only reason he had to ask if she was hungry was because sometimes she wouldn't eat after a night with Pete but she passed out before most of it so she would today. He brought in a plate of eggs with fried hot dogs and a glass of juice.

"Thank you." She said gratefully but quietly. He sat next to her at what she considered a comfortable distance. She ate and he sat silently beside her on the floor. "Matt?" She asked after she finished her food.

"Yeah," He looked her straight in the eye. He knew that if he looked at her any other way it would upset her.

"Why did you stay?" He gave her a confused look but still held her eyes. "After you tried to get Pete and John to let me go. Why did you stay? You didn't even know me then." He seemed to hesitate before speaking.

"I didn't want to leave you alone, especially with them. I knew I had parents that would never stop looking for me. So if your parents gave up, as long as I was with you people would still look for us." Arin let tears slide down her cheeks. Matt wanted to wipe them away but knew she would take it the wrong way. Arin leaned lightly on his shoulder. It was the first time she had touched him like that. He started to put his arm around her and watched to see if she tensed up and felt nervous. Arin leaned closer to him and Matt put his arm around her. She gave him all her trust and loyalty as she cried.

"Matt!" A voice from downstairs called. Arin returned to her normal tensed, nervous state as Matt got up. Arin stayed sitting on the ground.

"I'll come bring you something if I can around noon, okay?" He unbuckled his belt and grabbed her plate. He nearly ran into John as he came out.

"Hey, there you are, man." John said smiling at him but eyeing the plate suspiciously.

"Yeah, I just gave her something to eat and she gave me something in return." He faked a smile back. He handed John the plate and buckled his belt for show. He faked things to him and Pete all the time just to prevent them from getting suspicious.

"It's a little early for that kinda thing ain't it?" John smiled mischievously.

"Hey, you know it's never too early for a little action!" Matt lied.

"Amen!" John said giving him a high five. Matt had a feeling John was just getting over a bad hangover from last night. Arin listened to every word through the door. She believed Matt was lying but could never really tell. She trusted him but after being abused the way she was it felt so wrong to have Matt talk about her like that. The two went back downstairs and left Arin alone. Matt returned at noon with a sandwich for her.

"I… I heard Pete come in here last night…" He looked at her sincerely, "Are you okay?" Arin looked away from him. She knew that he just wanted to make sure she was all right but she was never okay after Pete had his way with her.

"Yeah… I guess. He used his belt again. I passed out before most of it though…" She confessed, she bit her lip and held back the pain.

"I'm sorry." Matt wished above all things that he could get her out of here and heal her wounds but Pete never left the house or his gun. He sent John and Matt whenever they needed anything and was never without his pistol. "Pete wanted me and John to go get some beer for him tonight. I'll try to keep him away from you."

"Okay. Thanks." She managed to give him a small smile before he left for the night. Later that night, she gazed out the window again. At least there was a moon out tonight.


	4. Chapter 4

_Author's Note: _Okay, this is another kinda graphic chapter but I promise I will never get into details. I just need to get the story across. So prepare yourselves and enjoy.

**The Night Before the Sunrise **

_Chapter 4_

_Arin spun around upon hearing the lock on the door rattle. _Matt had told her he might come bring her dinner if he could get away from the guys long enough, but she had heard them all downstairs. They had been drinking, even Matt. He did drink occasionally but not ever like Pete or John. It was black in the room and only the light that shown through the door was what trailed up the stairs from the first floor. The door creaked shut and her eyes focused, mapping out what little she could see in the pale moonlight that poured through the window. Her heart raced at the uncertainty of who was in the room and what they would do to her. A hand reached to her through the moonlight and held her wrist firmly. A face was soon to follow.

"Matt! Oh, don't scare me like that." She said, her voice noticeably relaxing. "Matt?" The boy's eyes were glazed and Arin caught the smell of alcohol that surrounded him. He was not himself. "Matt… please… your drunk…" She tried to slide his hand off her wrist but his grip tightened. She felt tears well up in her eyes.

"Matt, why are you doing this? Let me go!" She let her voice rise in fear. She didn't want to kick him away like Pete; he was still her friend. This was just the alcohol acting up. She tried to convince herself that the boy that stared at her now wasn't Matt.

"Rin," He spoke at last. "Why don't you love me? Don't you trust me?" He asked, slurring his words slightly. Arin looked at him wide-eyed.

"Matt… I do trust you but you need to stop. You're scaring me." She pried at his hand to free herself.

"But do you love me?" Matt's questiondid not display the sincerity that his voice usually held. Now his eyes glazed over with tears. "I said: do you love me?" His voice rose up to a shout. Arin jumped back at the sound as it bounced off the walls of the open room. Matt crawled closer to her and spoke quietly, just inches away from her face. "Do you love me?"

"Yes…" Arin sighed, crying silently. She did love Matt, but he was scaring her and was drunk. She felt uncomfortable to have Matt this close to her but was somehow happy that she finally could tell Matt that she loved him. It felt so right but this was definitely the wrong situation. Without warning, Matt pressed his lips against hers. At first she recoiled away from him but she eventually gave in. She let the kiss carry out longer and deeper. Matt wrapped his arms around her and came closer to her still. Arin relaxed slightly and almost welcomed his affection. Matt pressed himself towards her until she was against the wall.

"Matt." Arin said turning away from him. He looked at her surprised and in a way sad. He hadn't wanted this to end. The look she gave him said it all.

"Rin, please…" He seemed to beg. He tried to kiss her again but she bowed her head away.

"No Matt." Her voice remained calm and subtle. Anger flashed through Matt's eyes and his brow lowered into a glare. "Matt, please…" Matt had never gotten angry with her before and she feared the results, especially since he had been drinking.

"You said you loved me." Matt said stroking the side of her face gently. She didn't answer him. He squeezed his eyes shut and Arin felt him tense around her. Arin knew how Pete and John acted when they were drunk but she had never seen Matt like this before. "Love me." He whispered, his eyes flaring open. Tears filled her eyes again and she shook her head slowly. Matt pounded the wall behind her with his fist and gave out small sighs.

After he stopped he looked at her intensely. He came closer to her and began to kiss her lips but moved slowly down to her neck. His hands grazed over her body as silent tears flowed from her eyes. Never in a million years would she have imagined this would happen. She shut her eyes to force the pain away. She felt Matt lean back to unbuckle his pants and her eyes snapped back open.

"Matt no! You don't want to do this." He didn't even look up at her. He started to pull her skirt up but she batted him away. "Matt, please." She gave him one last pleading look. Matt made one attempt to kiss her again. Arin cried as she kicked him away and ran to the door, pounding on it as hard as she could. She screamed as she heard Matt come up behind her. He wrapped his arms over and around her and slammed her to the ground. Pain jolted up her back as she shivered on the cool wood floor. Before she knew it Matt was on top of her trembling form. He kissed her and she kissed him back hoping to bring back the real Matt she knew and loved.

Part of Arin loved and wanted this deeply but after what she had been through this felt wrong. Arin was in pain only from the fall, now, Matt was being gentle. She in a way felt sorry for him. Alcohol had driven him this far, not his own will. She scooted herself into a more upright position when Matt laid back for a few seconds. Her hair fell over her face but in the dark she could see Matt's confused look. He held his head in his hands and swayed back and forth.

He argued against himself in his mind. Part of him knew what he was doing was wrong; the other part was disabled by the alcohol and barely knew what was going on. Arin watched as tears streaked down his face. She could see the glisten of sweat that ran across his hairline and soaked the hair around it. He panted and stared angrily at the floor, still holding his head. She backed away slowly, dragging herself on her palms and heels. She jumped as his hands fell from around his face and he looked up at her.

"I'm so sorry, Rin." His normal voice had returned and his face and shoulders relaxed. He started to come towards her again but she backed away with fear in her eyes. He shut his eyes and sighed. "I… I never meant to do this… I'm sorry." He looked up to her again, she returned his look with one of worry but stayed where she was. He shut his eyes and felt the burn of hot tears press against the lids that held them in. Within seconds he felt Arin's soft hand brush against his arm. She was sitting in front of him, still keeping her distance, but trying her hardest to comfort him. There were tears in her eyes, too, but defying everything he had done to her, she was smiling. Matt gently pulled her closer to him and she let him. They held each other and wiped each other's tears away. Arin tensed, feeling the bruises on her arms and back forming. Matt was always quick to notice this, he had just never thought it would be his hands that caused her pain.

"Are you okay?" He asked quietly. She nodded quickly and rested her chin on his shoulder to hide the tears that would give away her lie. "No you're not." He sobbed, not bothering to mask the worry and sadness in his voice. "Your hurt, you need to get out of this mess." She pulled back from him momentarily.

"I'll be fine." Matt opened his mouth to protest but Arin's lips met his before he could say anything. Matt raised his hand with his index finger up and mumbled his protesting into her kiss. She just giggled slightly and kissed him harder until they both fell backwards on top of each other.

"Wow." Matt said, as she leaned up above him. That sobered him up. Arin didn't mind this, she was in control, she could take it as far as she wanted and never more. Both their eyes had dried and they were now smiling. "Me likes." Matt let his humorous side show through. Arin blushed and slid off of him. He leaned up and reached for her, gently turning her face towards his. He kissed her again and let his hands glide down her neck and wrap around her shoulders. He let his kisses fall from her lips to her neck. Arin relaxed and leaned lightly into him. The two, worn down by the struggle when Matt had first come in, fell asleep in each other's arms.

_Author's Note: _Otay, hope everyone's okay after this chapter. It did get a little graphic but I tried to keep it to a minimum. So, please leave me a nice review telling me what you think!


	5. Chapter 5

_Author's Note: _Otay this chapter shouldn't be too graphic but I never really know exactly what I'm going to put in a chapter. Yeah and any words like 'kinda' are supposed to be there because these guys are pretty hung over and can't talk clearly. Please enjoy! And I swear, I will get back to Brian in a chapter or two.

**The Night Before the Sunrise**

_Chapter 5_

"_Matt? Matt wake up, man." _Matt jumped as a voice and a hand shaking his shoulder woke him up.

"What?" He asked looking up drearily to John's slightly worried face.

"Gees, man, I was starting to get kinda worried." John said squatting beside him. Matt glanced around, absorbing his surroundings. He was still in Arin's room. He saw Arin balled up under the window, sliding her feet over the floor and pushing herself against the wall. Her hair looked damp and kept falling in front of her face.

"I… I guess I passed out…" Matt said leaning up. He had a killer headache and when John pulled him up to his feet he blacked out for a moment.

"Yeah, you need to learn how to handle your liquor." John smiled and looked at Arin. "Besides, it's my turn." He started over to Arin. She froze and pushed against the wall harder, hoping in any way to get away from John. Matt's heart raced. If he stopped John he could tell Pete and he would kill him and probably Arin too. If he didn't Arin would never forgive him and John would hurt her.

"No, John." Matt said quietly, looking at the ground.

"What?" John gave him a confused look and stopped two feet from Arin. She took advantage of his pause and crept away to the corner to her right.

"I said no." Matt said looking up at John now. John kept his confused look but his brow furred in slight anger on top of it. "John you know this is wrong. Please, leave her alone."

"What? Matt… you and her…" He pointed from Matt to Arin but let his hand and shoulders fall in uncertainty.

"I never liked the idea of kidnapping and raping a girl and haven't ever hurt her… until last night. I don't know how you and Pete live with what you do to her, I couldn't stand doing it myself." Matt said. John's mouth hung open for a moment.

"Wait, wait, wait. So, you… you faked everything? Weird…" John cleared his thoughts. He wasn't totally sure what was going on but he knew this wasn't going to go well with Pete. "Okay… okay. Fine." He turned and started heading for the door.

"John, wait! You can _not_ tell Pete." Matt said, alarm flooding into his voice.

"Why not?" John asked, remotely angered.

"He'd kill all of us. You know how he is when he gets mad." Arin shivered at the statement as Matt said it. She had seen Pete at his worst and suffered the bruises. Once Pete showed no interest in her except to kick her for twenty minutes straight in the ribs. She could barely breath for two days. In those two days Matt came to check on her almost every two hours. He brought her some Tylenol and comforted her as well as he could. At one point he had even considered leaving to get help for her but Pete and John would have gotten suspicious.

"Fine… fine. Man, Matt… gees." John left still baffled about what had just happened. He had really started to like John since he met him at that party and easily considered him his bud but because of what just happened he would have to rethink that. He started out the door grabbing a beer for himself and Pete on the way out.

Matt rushed over to the shaking form of Arin that still trembled under the window. He kneeled down to her level and put a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Are you alright?" Her eyes fell to his feet but she nodded solemnly. "He didn't do anything to you?" He asked averting his eyes out the window to watch Matt trot down the path through the woods where he knew Pete was practicing his shots with his ever-reliable pistol.

"No… he came in here and woke me up while trying to wake you up… I got scared and came over here. You scared me too." She said wrapping her hands around his arm that was still on her shoulder.

"I scared you? How?" Matt said, sounding shocked.

"You wouldn't wake up. It took John, like, five minutes to wake you up." She looked at him still worried. He was soaking in sweat but the hand on her shoulder was icy cold. He again switched his gaze from her to the window, wiping away the sweat on his forehead with the back of his hand. Arin wrapped her arms tightly around his torso and gave out a concerned sigh.

"What, Arin?" He asked resting his arms around her, "Arin, I'm fine." After seeing that none of these comments helped he landed a light kiss on the top of her head and hugged her closer. Arin listened closely for the steady beating of his heart and breathing as she clung onto him. Satisfied that both his breathing and heartbeat were normal, she released him after a few moments.

"You think John really won't tell Pete?" Arin asked glancing from the window to Matt.

"I don't know." He said wishing he could only say something more reassuring. "I've got to get you out of here."

"What? You-" Arin started.

"We've both got to get out of here." He said with an almost frightening amount of seriousness weighing down his voice.

"Matt, you know we would never make it out of here without Pete killing us first." Arin almost yelled; her voice filled with stressed emotion.

"Rin," Matt helped her up to her feet and held her hands with both of his, "Do you trust me?" Arin winced, that sentence was one word away from what he had said the night before when he was drunk. The reminder of the night before made her hesitate her answer.

"Yes…" She said finally.


	6. Chapter 6

_Author's Note: _Hello! Hopefully this chapter should bring some more interest into the story. So read, review, and enjoy!

**The Night Before the Sunrise**

_Chapter 6 _

_Arin's heart pounded as she followed Matt._ He crept slowly down the stairs, leading her to what they hoped would be their newly found freedom. When he got to the bottom he peered over the ledge and scanned the room for any movements or sounds. He waved to Arin to follow him.

"They aren't back yet but stay away from the windows just to be safe, okay?" He told her digging through some cupboards and grabbing cans of food. Arin let her eyes pass over the entire first floor as she listened to Matt. The only time she had seen the first floor was when she was forced through it and up into the room that held her captive for the past two weeks. The sound of a shot flowed through an open window from the direction John had left in.

"Matt, this is a stupid idea." She said scooting closer to him. He turned to her and upon seeing the terrified look on her face, smiled and held her.

"Okay, how about this? I'll go get your old pants and your tennies. And while I'm packing this stuff you can change." He asked hiding the stress in his voice. Arin nodded and he quickly jogged off into John and his room and pulled out her clothes from the bottom of his dresser and ran back. Arin climbed the stairs and turned into her room, taking a final nervous glance at Matt before shutting the door. Matt grabbed John's old backpack and stuffed it with the food he'd found in the cabinet. He pressed his mind into what else they would need. It would only be a day or two's hike to the nearest town where they could call the police and get out of here.

In her room, if she could consider it that, Arin pulled on her old jeans. They had once been tight to her legs but now, after getting only a meal or two daily and being abused the way she was, hung comfortably loose. She spun around at a knock on the door.

"Arin, it's me." Matt said gently pushing the door open. "We've got to get going." She slipped on her mud-stained tennies and came out with him.

"Can't we take the van?" Arin asked when they got to the bottom of the stairs.

"No, John has the keys." He said regrettably. It was just like Pete and his pistol; John and what he considered 'his' keys were never separated. He led Arin out the back door and they made their way to the corner farthest from the path to where Pete and John were and sprinted into the woods. Matt was careful to lead them in the same direction as the narrow driveway but kept it only barely in his sight. They ran as long as they could until they were half a mile away from the cabin.

"Do you know where you're going?" Arin asked as they slowed to a walk.

"For the most part…" He claimed trying to sound and feel confident in their current direction.

Matt stopped for only a second to reposition the backpack on his back when a loud shout echoed through the forest. Arin's face flushed of all the color it had; it was Pete. Without a word, the two broke out into a run and ran as fast as they could. Matt slowly lost ground and was falling behind when he heard another incoherent yell from only half the distance than what it had been before. He sped up and thought of tossing the pack but feared what would happen if Pete found it after they already found him and Arin. He would know exactly what was happening and would kill both of them without hesitation. Within seconds he could hear the Pete's footsteps behind him, still out of sight with all the thick undergrowth.

"Arin!" He called out; she was only twenty feet in front of him but still easily within range of Pete's pistol. She stopped in front of him and watched him keep on towards her with concerned eyes. He tore off the backpack and threw it as far as he could into a tangle of bushes. He then grabbed Arin and whispered, "Pretend to struggle."

"What?" She responded quietly. She looked up at him, he was only about two inches taller than her but her almost crumpled, insecure stature made her seem so small to him. Her eyes begged him not to give up on her so quickly but inside she knew they would never get away.

"Just do it." He spoke with quiet, gentle words as he put his arms around her. She just started to wrestle against his grasp as Pete burst through the shrubs into the small clearing, gun aimed at the two of them. When Arin saw this she froze for a split second before screaming and fighting against Matt's strong hold for real. In seeing her fear, he reformed his grip holding her closer to his body into more of a protective stance. She seemed to relax slightly at this as Pete lowered his gun and shoved it under his belt on the small of his back.

"What the hell happened, Matt?" Matt opened his mouth to speak but Pete cut him off first, "Do you realize what could have happened? We would all get caught and be stuck in jail for the rest of our lives!" He thundered.

"It's nowhere you haven't been before." Arin mumbled glaring at Pete in an unbelievably daring move. Pete stared a moment in astonishment before raising a closed fist above her. Arin let out a horrified yelp and curled into Matt's arms, secretly begging for protection. She squeezed her eyes shut and clenched Matt's shirt tightly, waiting for the impact that never came.

"That's what I thought." Pete said darkly, lowering his arm to wipe away the sweat that had built up on the edges of his pale brown hair. "God damn it, Matt, what happened?"

"I was in with her and I left the door unlocked. While I was getting dressed she kicked me in the…"Pete rolled his eyes, "Then she just ran out."

"Well, lock the damn door next time. Now, get her back to the cabin." He sighed leading them back. John found them half way there. He stared intently at Matt for a long time but Matt stared back with a glare twice as intense. Arin came easily, letting silent tears slip from her eyes. For a while she had actually had hope of getting away from this living nightmare. Then Pete stole it away just like everything she ever had. He only missed one thing: Matt. He was her moon on her dark night. And today she had almost seen the sunrise, before Pete blocked off the light.

When the group got back to the cabin Pete took Arin from Matt and shoved her up the stairs. Matt followed him, preparing to think of some sort of distraction to get him away from Arin. Pete ripped the door to her room open and threw her in, slamming the door as he left. Pete eyed Matt suspiciously as he passed him to go back downstairs.

"Don't ever let me catch you in there with the door unlocked again. Got it?" Pete said coldly. He put his arm around Matt, a friendly gesture coated in cruel intentions.

"Got it." Matt gasped. Matt held his ribs wherePete had jammed the head of his gun into them.

_This is just a sample of what Pete does to Arin._ Matt thought gripping his ribs; he could already feel the bruise forming. He returned downstairs with John and Pete. Later on that evening he snuck away to visit Arin.

"Hey," He said entering the room, "How're you doing?" He asked quietly. Arin bit her lip doubtingly but came over to Matt and hugged him. She still said nothing, which told Matt everything. "I'm sorry about what happened earlier today." She pulled away from him slightly only to look him in the eye and give him a small smile.

"It could have been worse, I guess." She said, her smile fading off her pale face.

"Yeah, I was worried that they would notice the pants." Arin looked down at herself and remembered herself and was grateful. "You should probably change before they _do _notice."

"Yeah." A slightly awkward moment passed between them. Matt shifted his weight nervously but was honestly not sure on why he was nervous. Arin simply wrapped her arms around him tighter and kissed his lips lightly. Both of them felt a satisfied smiled pull at their lips as they kissed. Arin let the smile flood over her face; she finally had something to smile about. Matt leaned in for another kiss and felt Arin blush as they did.

"You're blushing," He mumbled into their kiss. Arin couldn't help laughing. "But I have to go now. I'm 'going to the bathroom' so they don't expect me to be gone too long." He said giving her one last kiss. She waved good-bye as he left, for the first time feeling good after he left her.

Later that night, Arin's door creaked open and she watched it expectantly; Matt didn't say he would come back but he hadn't brought her anything all day. It wasn't like him to let her go hungry but maybe he was just trying to lie low after what happened earlier today. She tensed as the person shut the door silently and started to approach her without saying a single word.

"Matt?" She asked the darkness, her voice coming out small and fearful.

"Hello, Arin." Pete's powerful, deep voice mocked her. She gasped and clambered to her feet, preparing to avoid Pete under any and all costs. He approached he in the darkness and suddenly appeared around her; one arm against the wall on each side of her, pinning her against the wall. She pushed him away and started to run to the other side of the room but was yanked back as he caught her by the wrist.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." He said slowly and coldly. The click of a gun being cocked, ready to fire echoed after his voice. Arin's heart sank as she stopped struggling against him. "Now, come back over here." He ordered. She obeyed, tears filling her eyes. He pulled her closer to him so that his gun was only inches away from her temple.

"You did a very bad thing today, Arin." He said pressing his gun against her. "Now you're gonna pay."

_Author's Note: _Dun, dun, dun! Hope you liked the chapter and the next one should be pretty interesting and I'm keeping the violence to a minimum so don't worry about it. Now if you'll be so nice as to leave a review!


	7. Chapter 7

_Author's Note: _Hello again and welcome to another chapter! This one shouldn't be too violent but might have blood from the violence that won't be in great detail here. So if you understand that I congratulate you. But in simpler terms you just have to worry about blood not violence.

**The Night Before the Sunrise **

_Chapter 7 _

_Matt bolted up in his bed; sweat pouring off his forehead. _He listened as Pete's footsteps echoed as he walked down the hall on the second floor.

_Please don't go into Arin's room. _He begged in his head. His thoughts were clashed as he heard the lock on her door being fiddled with and then opened up. Arin's room was directly above his and John's so he could easily locate the exact locations of both Arin and Pete. He shut his eyes and just listened as Pete shut the door and advanced toward Arin. He heard a small quiet mumble of a voice and recognized it immediately as Arin's. Pete's low murmur of a voice still sounded cold and ruthless as it quietly rattled down the walls. Matt put and ear to the wall to better trace their movements.

He heard Arin's light footsteps dodge away from Pete's but then Pete spoke more, indefinable words and Arin returned to him. His brow furred in confusion as he pressed his ear to the wall harder. He jumped back as Pete's low voice rippled through the house followed by a loud thump on the ground and a tiny yelp from Arin. The bang even woke John up. He looked across the room at Matt who gave him a worried and angry glare. John sleepily looked up at the ceiling and rolled over and fell asleep.

Matt was baffled at how easily he brushed off a girl being tortured only a room away from him. Then again Matt knew he came from a pretty rough family so it wasn't unlikely that that could have been his parents and he was used to it. Either way he couldn't care, not as long as Arin was up there with Pete. He listened as Pete yelled at her again as she screamed and ran away.

"Arin." He said quietly, arguing in his mind on whether he should do something or not. If he did try to stop Pete, he would figure out exactly what was going on and would kill them both.

_God, _he thought as he heard another heavy bang on through the ceiling, _If only I could have gotten you out of here earlier. I'm sorry, Rin. I have to stop him… I just wish I could. _

He listened as he more pounding and loud crashes echoed through the silent cabin. Matt slammed his fist against his mattress and pillow, squeezing his eyes shut to hold back his anger. He let himself fall onto his stomach on his pillows and held back tears. He laid there for over an hour as the beating continued. He silently prayed that Arin had passed out at the beginning, that her pains would go unknown until she woke up.

Relief and fear flooded his heart as he heard the quiet thumping of Pete leaving Arin's room. He jumped up immediately and ran to the stairs. He peered cautiously over the edge and saw that the hall was empty. He raced up it, not caring if Pete or John found out. When he got to the top of the stairs he watched the door to Arin's room swing open. The inside of the door was covered in deep scratches and streaked with blood.

_Oh my god…_

"Arin!" He yelled flinging himself into the room. He gasped as his eyes led him from small trails of blood to the still form of Arin on the floor. Fear welled in his eyes as he watched her back, begging it to rise and fall with life. It did. As he got closer he realized Pete had left her skirt up. He shielded his eyes and kneeled beside her. He gently pulled her skirt down, pulling his hand away bloody. She seemed like she was pretty out of it and it gave Matt a small sense of relief. He flipped her off her side and cradled her in his arms.

One side of her face was already turning blue and swollen and when he flipped her over he saw her heavily mangled arm. There was a small puddle of blood around her from where her arm must have bled out. The skin on it had been slashed and pieces of it seemed to be missing as more blood dripped off her hands onto the floor. The tips of her fingernails were also torn off and bleeding.

"Oh, Arin." He whispered to her and held her closer. She whimpered quietly and coiled into a ball in his arms. He stroked her hair and pleaded with her to keep breathing. With every shaky breath she took a small cry escaped her lips. Matt felt her shiver against him and her small cries grew into a pained weep. "I've got to get you warm. I don't care what Pete says." As he picked her up she gave out a loud sob and squeezed his shirt, staining it with her blood. He rushed her down the stairs, nudging the door open with his foot. He winced as an ear-piercing squeak resonated in the room, causing John to shoot up in his bed. His mouth dropped for a moment before speaking.

"No. Oh, no." John got out of bed and came up to Matt as he set Arin gently on his bed. "Pete is gonna kill you. No, bring her back."

"John, she is a few quarts of blood away from dying. Unless you want to help me drag the spare bed up the stairs, into her room, she's staying here." John opened his mouth to respond but Matt didn't let him. "Just go into the spare room and sleep there." John tried to speak again. "Now!" Matt almost yelled. John sighed, grabbing his pillow and left the room, slamming the door behind him. Matt jumped as he heard Arin scream and jolt up on the bed. He came over to her and pulled the covers over her.

"Shh…" He cooed to her softly. Arin had woken up to a terrible pain in her ribs and as she gasped desperately for breath, remembered how Pete had kicked her so hard she blacked out. Unfortunately, she also remembered how she had woken up seconds later as he kicked her again. Matt felt helpless as she cried and gasped for every breath. He hadn't even started to think about what could be going on _inside_ her. She could be bleeding inside of her too or her ribs could be cracked. "Arin, try to calm down. Shh… please."

"It hurts… so bad…" She whimpered quietly, her voice cracking. She was still struggling to breath and it felt like her lungs were on fire. She was exhausted and wanted to give up all together.

"I know, I'm sorry. Try to relax. It'll be okay." Matt's voice soothed her pain momentarily. "I'll be right back, okay? Will you be all right?" Arin nodded yes, despite the fact that she was sobbing in pain. "Okay, I'll be right back." He ran down the hall into the kitchen and grabbed the entire bottle of Tylenol, a bottle of water, and the small first aid kit the boys had found in the cabin when they first came. He set the kit out on Arin's bed and popped it open. He found a roll of gauze, cotton balls, and some antiseptic in it.

"Arin," He struggled to get her attention, she was fading in and out of consciousness, "Arin, I'm going to clean your arm. Can you hear me? It might hurt but it will help, okay." Arin involuntarily quivered her head.

_Matt, please… save me…make my pain go away… _Arin begged him.

As Matt dabbed her arm lightly with a damp cotton ball, he wondered how Pete could have done such damage. Small flaps of skin hung limply, dead, around the main wound. He carefully wrapped her arm in the gauze and put the kit down under the bed.

"Arin," He held her hand and squeezed it softly, "Arin, I need you to help me, so I can help you. Okay, where else are you hurt?" Arin wrapped her arms around her ribs and mumbled quietly.

"Pete… he hurt me…everywhere." She spoke between desperate gasping breaths. Matt sighed, he couldn't help her anymore.

"I'm sorry. Here, take some Tylenol." He helped her scoot into an upright position and gave her the pills. She had barely swallowed them when she collapsed back onto the bed. "Sleep." He told her, stroking her hair with one hand, still clasping her hand with the other. He stayed with her like that until she finally fell asleep, then he pulled John's bed up closer to hers. He got his bed and, finally feeling satisfied about Arin's condition, fell asleep hand in hand.

_Author's Note:_ Hope that wasn't too gory for anyone. Sorry if it was. Leave a nice review and tell me about it.


	8. Chapter 8

_Author's Note: _Not much to say about this chapter besides the fact that I think it's pretty cute: )

**The Night Before the Sunrise**

_Chapter 8_

_Arin came to almost three days after she fell asleep in Matt's bed. _As he had been all three of those days, Matt was right at her side as she woke. He held her hand eagerly as she worked away the stiffness of her injuries.

"I heard what you said." She croaked, smiling lightly. Matt smiled back; his heart swelling at how well Arin seemed to be doing.

"What did I say?" Matt said, feeling how impossible it was to keep his smile from growing.

"You stood up to Pete for me." She said simply. Memories flooded Matt's mind as he remembered how Pete nearly kicked the door in the afternoon after the beating.

"_Matt, what the hell is going on?" Pete screamed rushing up to Matt. Matt purposely put himself between Pete and Arin. Pete whipped his gun out from under his belt and held it three inches in front of Matt's face. He held his hands up in what looked like surrender. _

"_You nearly killed her, Pete!" Matt yelled back. _

"_I don't care! And after what you do to her every day, you shouldn't either." Pete said lowering the gun to his chest. _

"_Do you want murder on your rep list too? If we ever got caught you'd be put first in line on death row." _

"_You think I don't know that?" Matt was temporarily put silent by this. _

"_You can't kill her." Matt said finally. _

"_And why not?" Pete glared, bringing his gun back up to Matt's forehead. _

"_You wouldn't have any control anymore." Matt he said more quietly, almost smirking. "Without her there would be no purpose for us to be out here anymore and we would eventually leave. You would be left with nothing." Pete stood at him with a look of pure hatred in his eyes. _

"_Fine keep her alive, or I'll do the same thing I did to her, to you." With that he left. Matt squatted beside Arin and held her wrist, whispering to her quietly. _

"_Arin, I get to keep you here, with me. Then, once your better, I'll get you out of here for real." Matt curled his arms around her form and held her for a long time after that. He noticed how small tears had rolled down her cheeks. _

_It must have been the yelling. _He thought bringing his thoughts back to the present. The same tears clouded Arin's eyes now as she looked lovingly up at him. She turned her gaze downward to her bloodied arm. Dried blood coated the gauze that wrapped it, tracing the wound underneath it.

She let her hand graze over it as she asked quietly, "How long was I out?"

"Three days," Matt said calmly, "You woke up, if you can even call it that, and asked for water. You downed, like, sixteen ounces and then fell back asleep." He paused, looking at her. She was still covered in bruises but the most of the swelling on her face and the rest of her had gone down. "How are you feeling?" She sat up shakily.

"Achy, not good." She grasped her ribs, and sucked in a sharp breath in pain.

"You want some Tylenol?" Matt asked, touching her arm between the bruises. She nodded briskly and Matt walked quietly out of the room. Once he was gone, Arin lifted her shirt up and examined her ribs. They were deep purple, some in the exact shape of Pete's shoes. She traced the edges of them but pulled her shirt down as she heard Matt's steps approach the door. "Here," he said, handing her a glass of water and two pills.

"Thanks." She said quietly taking the pills. It burned her throat to swallow, making her realize how thirsty she was. She brought her hand casually to the side of her neck and felt around it, she didn't want to worry Matt even more. The sides of her neck felt bruised and her throat was sore.

_Pete… he tried to strangle me…_Matt saw her eyes widen with realization.

"What did he do to you?" He asked nearly silently, his eyes falling down her neck onto the bloody wrist that clasped it. She quickly lowered her arm, hoping he didn't notice her pain. Her eyes fluttered shut for a few seconds before she spoke.

"He… used his gun," She said, brushing over her arm, "I think he tried to strangled me."

"You passed out?" He asked, praying for her to say yes. She bit her lip and shook her head. "I'm sorry." Her eyes fell to her arm again. She was surprised when Matt gently lifted her head up and kissed her lightly on the lips. The kiss brought out emotions in her she didn't know she had bottled inside her. She gasped quietly as she cried in his arms. "Shh…" He comforted her. This situation has been happening far too often lately. "How long until you think you can move?" He asked.

"I don't know. At least a few days still." She said, reaching to wipe her eyes. Matt wiped them for her and she laughed lightly and coughed, but kept her smile. "Thank you." Matt kissed her again this time deeper. He held her shoulders gently, careful not to hurt her. She let him lean into her and fell back onto the bed. Matt's weight hurt her ribs and she winced and let out a small cry. Matt leaned back up and lifted Arin up with him.

"I'm sorry. I didn't… I'm sorry." Arin held her ribs but kept a pale smile on her lips.

"It's not your fault," She sighed, "It's Pete's." She cursed him for the millionth time, but was too emotionally exhausted to hate him. She coughed again, each breath paining her.

"You should get some more rest. You'll heal faster." Matt said pulling his bed side to side with hers.

"I've been asleep for three days!" She argued lightly.

"Well, you certainly aren't going anywhere."

"I know, but I don't have to be asleep."

"I never said you had to be." He looked up just in time to see her frustrated, confused face. He smiled and climbed into his bed and scooted himself closer to Arin on hers. He wrapped his arms around her gently and kissed her quickly on the nose.

"I love you." She whispered, glancing up at his dark brown eyes.

"I love _you_." He whispered back and kissed her lightly on the forehead.


	9. Chapter 9

_Author's Note:_ This chapter might be a little more on the graphic side but not for blood, for… other things… use your imagination. It won't be too bad, though.

**The Night Before the Sunrise**

_Chapter 9 _

"A week… no, over a week." Arin thought out loud. It had been at least a week since Pete had beaten her last and Arin loved the feeling of freedom. She knew in the back of her mind that this feeling wasn't real and wouldn't last, but tried to enjoy the time she had. She stood by one of the windows in the room and let the sun shine down over her face. Matt came up behind her and kissed her neck.

"It's been eight days." He said between kisses. He felt Arin grasp his arm as he draped it over her shoulders. She held it to her close and tight, and felt safe in his arms. "I think… it might be about time that we try to get out of here again." He whispered into Arin's ear as her face visibly darkened. "I know your scared because of what happened last time but I think if we left at night this time we'd have a better chance of escaping."

"But even if they can't find us, how are we supposed to find a way out of here?" Arin said slightly angered.

"Arin, I've memorized this place and the exact route to the town."

"Yeah, but that's on the road. We have to stay in the woods or they'll catch us just like last time," Arin said pulling away from him, "I just… after last time…"

"I won't let that happen again. I have a plan that should give us a pretty good head start but I'll need you to agree to a few things, okay?"

"Like what?" Arin asked, fear entering her voice. Matt sighed.

"If we could just get John to distract Pete long enough one night we could get out of here. But we'd have to agree on some things first in order to get him on our side."

"Agree to what, though?" Arin asked, still cautious.

"Agree that when we get out of here you won't testify against him in court or something like that." Arin looked at him with hurt eyes. "I know it's not a perfect plan but we need to get out of here and having him help us is the only way to do it and not get caught. I'm really sorry, Rin, but I think once we get away you'll come to forgive me." He smiled, trying to coax her to do the same.

"I'll agree to whatever can get us out of here. Just stop giving me the puppy eyes." She said still refusing to smile.

"Oh, you _know_ you can't resist them." Matt laughed, "The puppy eyes are unstoppable." He picked her up suddenly and she let out a yelp but eventually smiled. "Come my Queen, we are off to Never-Never Land." He said and lifted her to the bed, kissing her forehead. She giggled and kissed his lips pulling him on the bed with her, wishing her life could be like this forever.

Later that night, Matt sat with John around the fire pit just outside the cabin. Pete had gone in only a few minutes ago when Matt broke the soothing sound of the crackling fire.

"John, Arin and I talked about some things. And we have an offer for you." John looked at him dully.

"No, Matt. I'm not getting involved in this whole you and her thing." John said waving and gesturing with his hands. "I don't-"

"What if it keeps you out of jail?" Matt cut in. "Arin has promised that if you let us go and distract Pete that once we get out of this mess, she won't testify against you at all." John stared at him with a less than convincing look. "She won't press charges or anything. You probably won't even have to hear a thing about the trial."

"I won't be involved at all?" John asked cautiously.

"Not at all. If we can, we'll even avoid mentioning you at all. You were never here; we've never seen you in our lives. After we get away just find a way to get away from Pete and we'll never even know you existed." John still looked wary but slightly more confident in Matt's words.

"No back stabbing?" John asked.

"No back stabbing." Matt told him smiling at his work.

"You know… I never really wanted to do this to Arin; at least not this long. Maybe a one-night thing but I had no idea that we were just going to keep her here and keep using her like this. Can you tell her, I am really sorry?" John confessed. Matt was slightly amazed at John's honestly and noted that he hadn't been drinking in a while.

"Yeah, I can tell her that. She'll be so happy to finally get out of here. Thank you." Both the boys got up as Matt finished.

"I'm heading in." John said, yawning as he talked.

"Yeah, me too. I have to tell Arin the good news. I'll let you know when this is going to happen, kay?" John nodded and started towards the door. Just as they were walking in they heard a muffled scream echo from down the hall.

"Oh my god, Arin." Matt whispered in horror. He ran down the hall and burst threw the door to Pete's room. Pete had Arin laid out sideways on the bed, his back facing the door. He turned when Matt opened the door letting Matt see his gun jammed under Arin's chin, who was desperately struggling to get away.

"Matt, you stay out of this… or I'll kill her." Pete threatened, being careful to keep his gun under Arin's chin as he glared at Matt. Matt stepped closer, testing Pete; he jammed his gun harder into her throat, cutting off her gasp in pain.

"You won't kill her." Matt stated firmly.

"Fine, I'll kill you." Pete said, replacing the gun on Arin's neck with his hand and pointing the gun at Matt's head. His move gave Arin enough time and room to kick him hard in the stomach. Matt lunged at Pete's gun and wrestled it back as Arin freed herself from Pete's grip and ran, around them, out the door. Finally, Matt pried Pete away from his gun and pointed at his head, slowly heading out the door.

"Matt! Come on." Arin called to him, stumbling down the hallway, never taking her eyes off him. Matt turned as he heard Arin scream again, John was holding her by the shoulders. He returned his eyes directly back to Pete who was following him as he made his way down the hall.

"Go ahead, shoot me." Pete said. Matt ignored Pete's words for a second as he listened to Arin and John's footsteps. He heard John whisper something to her and then he left quickly out the door.

"Arin?" Matt called over his shoulder.

"Yeah?" Her voice responded, small and scared.

_Good, she's all right… for the most part. _He thought aiming the gun at Pete's forehead.

"Plug your ears and run." He commanded and pulled the trigger. Only a small click echoed through the cabin as Matt's eyes opened in surprise. Pete smiled in front of him and grabbed the empty pistol away from him.

"Matt." Arin whispered from directly in back of him, shoving something in his hand that was now at his side. "John, gave it to me." She told him nearly silently. He brought his hand up and quickly studied the switchblade in his hand. He flicked it out and looked at Pete who was fiddling with bullets he had dug out of his pocket, still smiling.

"Go, Arin. Go! Run!" Matt said lightly pushing her to the door. They both burst out of it at a sprint and kept going into the woods. Arin ran right past John, who was sprawled out on the ground near the fire.

"John?" Matt asked. Arin stopped just into the woods and peeked out timidly.

"Go, Matt, leave now!" He said, lifting his head only and yelling in a whisper. "You knocked me out on your way out. I'll leave as soon as I can. Now get out of here!"

"Thanks." Matt said and started away. A shot rang out and glass shattered as he looked out through the trees to see Pete through one of the windows in the cabin. He and Arin ran away as shots were fired, seemingly from all around them. There was a short period of all silence except for the sound of their feet hitting the ground until one blew up directly behind them. More shots flew from behind them and seemed to fall back slightly.

Arin kept an eye on Matt as she ran and felt her heart stop as she saw him collapse as the last shot echoed through the woods.

_Author's Note: _Mwa ha ha ha! Cliffhanger! You'll have to wait till next time to see what happens… like anyone's actually reading it anyway!


	10. Chapter 10

**The Night Before the Sunrise**

_Chapter 10_

_Arin felt her chest tighten as she spun around just in time to see Matt fall to the ground. _

_I didn't see that…he just tripped…_She begged herself, closing her eyes as they fell on Matt's crumpled form. She rushed over to him as he lifted his head.

"Matt, oh my God, are you okay?" Arin asked, tears already welling in her eyes. She knew her question was totally meaningless as Matt cried out in pain. Arin lifted her hand from his arm and paled when she saw it was covered in blood that now dripped down both their arms. "No… Matt?"

"I'm… okay." Matt said clenching his arm tightly. Arin helped him up and they started walking. She glanced nervously around her as they quickened their pace, Pete could catch up to them easily if they didn't start running.

"Matt, we have to move faster." She whispered to him. As she looked at him in the newly appearing light she noticed how pale he was getting even after they had wrapped his wound in the sleeves of his t-shirt. He had been hit just below the shoulder on his left arm and since then Arin had never let go of his right. "Do you think you could run for a little while?"

"I want _you_ to run Arin." Matt said bringing both of them to a halt. "I can't do this."

"No, Matt, you'll be fine. We can walk." Arin spoke quietly with a heavy layer of worry covering her voice.

"Arin," Matt said looking her directly in the eye, "You are going to run until you find a river or a lake or something. Find the biggest one you can and stay near it."

"No… please…I don't want to leave you here." Arin begged, tears flowing down her dirtied face.

"I'm going to go back to the cabin and hopefully John will still be there and we can drive to the town and I'll send out help for you." He said holding her by the shoulder with is good arm.

"But what if you can't make it all the way back, or what if John left already, and what am I supposed to do for food?" Arin asked in a state of panic.

"Shh… don't worry," He said holding her close to him, "I'll be able to make it back to the cabin and if John's gone already then I'll just walk to town. It's not that far." He dug into his pocket and pulled out four granola bars and handed them to her. "I grabbed these on the way out of the cabin." Arin clung to him tightly, never wanting to let go. "You'll have to make these last for a day or two, three at most."

"Okay…" She mumbled into his chest as she cried. "Promise you'll be, okay?"

"I'll be fine," Matt smiled reassuringly. Arin forced herself to smile back. "You have to promise to be okay when I find you in a few days, all right?" She nodded quietly. "Okay, good. You've got to go now." At his saying this Arin held on to him even tighter and started crying harder. "Arin, I'll be fine." Matt said almost laughing at her hysterics.

"I know. I just don't want to leave you." She said pulling away from him enough to wipe her eyes.

"I will see you very soon." He whispered and kissed her forehead. "Now go." She nodded again and slowly started away from him, looking back every few steps until he was finally out of sight.

She felt a tearing feeling of fear and dread at being alone with Pete hunting both of them down. At last she couldn't stand it anymore and broke out into a sprinted run, crying, and tripping over small plants as she did. She ran as far and as long as she could, grateful for the light to see a small stream when she reached it. She kneeled down and scooped some of the water into her mouth. She leaned on a tree and let herself catch her long lost breath.

_This stream won't be big enough for Matt to find me. _She thought, remembering his directions. She got back up and walked along the edge of the stream, hoping it would lead to a lake or a larger river. It was getting dark when she finally decided to give up on the river she had followed since early that afternoon, and focused on finding a place to stay for the night. It would need to be fairly hidden, so Pete or an animal couldn't find her. She had seen wolf tracks in the mud by the stream as she walked by it but she would rather confront one of those than Pete.

She looked around herself and noticed a bunch of bushes. She had seen a few other plants like this; they had small round leaves, bright red berries, which she didn't dare to eat. But this was a fairly large patch of them and upon approaching them she noticed that they had thorns. The bushes were about four feet tall and spread in a circle about eight feet wide; and the small one in the middle was being over crowded and was dying. Arin squatted down to see the inside the circle of bushes and, using a stick to part the branches, saw a small opening in the middle where the middle plant once had taken up. Now since it was dying the bush took up less than half the room and Arin figured if she could get herself in there, there would be just enough room for her to sleep there.

But that still left her with the problem of getting in there in one piece. She got down on her stomach after evaluating the entire circle of plants for an opening and started to crawl through the weakest area in the bushes. Her arm, still scabbed and healing from when Pete had beat her last, was still wrapped in strips of one of Matt's old shirts and she used it as a shield as pulled herself through the thorny branches. She curled up in the center, scratched and exhausted but otherwise okay. Sleep came to her quickly, only leaving her once in the middle of the night at the hoot of an owl and the scream of its prey. She recoiled herself in amongst the tangled bushes and was soon asleep, only by the thought of Matt finally getting her away from Pete. She was free.

_Author's Note:_ Ya de da! Okay, hope you enjoyed this chapter, there should be more coming fairly soon!


	11. Chapter 11

_Author's Note: _Yeah, so this is the part where you remember that this is in fact a fan fiction!

**The Night Before the Sunrise**

_Chapter 11_

Brian hiked out to a small river he found that ran into his lake, his homemade fishing pole over his shoulder with a small leather sack of dirt and worms over his shoulder. He always caught fish on his lines in the lake but he found that a different type of smaller fish lived only in the rivers and tasted sweeter than the lake fish. He guessed it was some sort of river trout but never knew for sure. He had also slung his small bow and quiver of arrows across his torso, just incase he came across a good opportunity for a fool bird or a rabbit.

After reaching the stream on the edge of the lake he followed the thin sand shore of the stream for two hours to the best place to catch the small trout. Patiently, he fished for an hour without a bite. Brian propped his fishing pole in a stump and left the bait in the water and went off to hunt. He moved with silent footsteps across the long grass and shrubs. He quickly recognized a small short, clover-like plant that rabbits loved and squatted, waiting and searching for one.

Arin let out a small scream as a blur flew only inches away from her. She had run along the river for six days straight and was more exhausted than she had ever felt in her life. The sudden fright and constant stress caused tears to jerk at her eyes moments after the object flew past her. She involuntarily sunk to her knees, mentally and physically beaten down. She looked to where the object had gone, horrified to see a roughly made arrow sticking out of a tree. Her eyes widened in fear as she heard something coming closer to her. Arin dragged herself to her feet just as a boy came into her view.

_A boy? Oh God, a boy… No! I'm not going to be used like that again. _She thought and started sprinting away as fast as she possibly could.

Brian stood there stunned, _Another person? _The first person he had seen in three years. He had no idea how to react to her, talk to her. His survival instincts decided for him as he ran after the girl.

"Wait! Stop!" He yelled, hardly recognizing his own voice.

_Like Hell, I'm gonna stop! _Arin thought stubbornly. She glanced over her shoulder petrified to see the boy easily gaining ground on her. She gasped and tried to run faster, constantly looking back at her pursuer. He had light brown hair like Pete's only his was much longer. The memory brought back terrible pain to her as she remembered the last time he had beaten her. The thought alone made her nauseous. She felt the ground rush up beneath her as she fell to meet it. Screaming she scrambled to get up, away from him. Just as she started to gain speed she felt his hand close around her wrist.

"Please, calm down." He asked. She tore away from him but he caught her again by her shoulder. Arin fought with her dwindling strength against the boy's grasp but couldn't free herself. Finally, after struggling with the girl, Brian took her by both shoulders and tried to hold her steady. She backed away from him until she ran into a tree. She let out a surprised and terrified yelp as she started to sob, Brian only now seeing the fear in her eyes.

"Please, just… calm down. I didn't mean to scare you." He stated quietly, not knowing if the girl was listening or not. Arin let herself slump down against the tree until she was on her knees, crying in fear. Brian looked at her nervously, not knowing what to say. "I'm sorry. Please just calm down. I- " he started, reaching out a hand to comfort her.

"No, please, don't hurt me. Stay away!" She cried, batting his hand away and pulling her knees up to her chest, cradling herself. "Just go away." She pleaded quietly.

"I won't hurt you…how did you get here?" He asked her quietly. She looked up to him for a second, her eyes filling with tears that flowed steadily down her face. She continued to weep without showing any signs of answering him. He looked back in the direction that he had chased the girl down in.

After thinking briefly he spoke in a calm, quiet voice to her, "I can take you back to my shelter… my home and I can get you something to eat, some water." The girl looked up at him again her face gaining back some of the color it lost when she first saw him. He got up and offered the girl a hand to help her up, honestly wondering if she'd actually take it. Her eyes still welled with tears but she watched him seeming slightly interested. Brian watched as her eyes averted to his hand, she carefully took it and pulled herself up but was quick to detach herself from him once up. He gave her a kind smile and started to walk slowly back towards the river, keeping a very good eye on her the entire time.

"Now, I need to go back to the river to pick up my stuff and from there it's about a two hour walk back to the lake." Something in his sentence caught her attention as she nodded nervously. "By the way, my name is Brian." He said, the girl nodded again as Brian waited for her to reveal her name to him, but she never did. Brian searched for something to start a conversation with but struggled to find it.

_Wherever she came from obviously was very bad. I just wish I knew what it was. _He thought.

"So, how long have you been out here?" he asked after they had been silent for almost half an hour. At first he didn't think she'd respond but soon a quiet voice trembled from slightly behind him.

"Six days."

"Wow," He accidentally said out loud. He wanted to tell her he had been out here for three years but held back. "Were you alone?" He asked gently, knowing he was tampering with a potentially sensitive subject. The girl said nothing but shook her head 'no' and closed her eyes to hold back the pain. "I'm sorry." He added quietly, studying the girl. She looked exhausted and dirty, her forehead dewed with drops of sweat. Then again he didn't look that great either, in his deer and rabbit skin clothes and dirty hair and face.

Arin was absolutely petrified. She had no idea who this boy, Brian, was and didn't trust him at all. She kept herself prepared to run for any reason. She quietly watched him, trying to read him before he could hurt her. Pete had started out nice but now was her living nightmare; this guy could be the same. She stumbled, feeling dizzy whether it was from exhaustion or fear. Judging by his animal-skin clothes, she guessed he was a trapper or something, even though he was a little young to be out here alone.

_Wait…was he alone?_ Arin panicked at the thought. The uncertainty caused her face to flush of its color again.

"Are you all right?" He asked looking worriedly at her. Her eyes fell to the ground doubtingly and she shook her head 'no'. "What's… what's wrong?" Brian asked knowing he wouldn't be able to do anything to help for at least another hour when they reached the shelter. She didn't answer. "What's wrong?" He repeated himself. This time the girl had almost no choice but to answer.

"I'm… scared… tired. I haven't eaten in three days." She said, her voice nearly silent. Brian nodded.

"I can make you something when we get home," he assured her, "I'm sorry, but I don't exactly have any normal food out here." She stared up at him, fear flooding her eyes. "Well, you see I've been stranded out here for… a long time and I pretty much have to hunt everything I eat." Brian said, slightly ashamed. "Hopefully that explains my clothes." He added with a nervous smile.

Arin shivered in the cool spring breeze. Thankfully all the snow had melted and now soaked into the soggy ground beneath them. She mentally thanked Matt for letting her change into her jeans and sneakers while she was still healing from the last time Pete beat her. She couldn't imagine how she would have survived the cool nights without real clothes. She looked at Brian as he walked in front of her in his rabbit-skin shirt and pants, not really knowing what to think of this situation. She eventually would have died out there if Matt never found her; it occurred to her then that this boy could just be either her savior or her next living nightmare and she had just put her life in his hands.

"Are… are you alone too?" She asked timidly, glancing nervously from him to the ground.

"What? Yeah, I never had anyone out here with me. It's nice to finally see someone." He answered, seeming almost as nervous as Arin.

_At least she's talking now…_Brian thought.

Arin briefly wondered if being alone with him is better or worse than being with others and him. Her mind involuntarily pictured the boy screaming at her and kicking her back in her room at the cabin.

"Are you sure you're okay?" The boy asked, suddenly close to her with his hand on her shoulder. She had unknowingly stopped moving altogether at her nightmarish thought. She screamed and swatted his hand off her.

"Please, go away! Leave me alone!" She shouted backing away from him. As she did she tripped and fell down on her side. Brian cautiously approached her, as he did the girl held up her arms to protect herself. Only now did Brian notice one of them was wrapped in muddy strips of cloth.

"What happened to you?" He asked reaching out to study her arm. She pulled it back away from him, curling it close to herself.

"No… go away. Please…" She said almost silently, her eyes showing how terrified she was.

"I won't hurt you." He said looking at her, not bothering to hide his confusion. "I want to help you." His words did nothing to comfort her. "Shh… don't worry." He said quietly. Arin's head shot up in surprise, he sounded just like Matt. She heard Matt's voice in her head gently comforting her.

"I won't hurt you." The boy repeated sincerely. She slowly extended her arm out cautiously so he could see it. Brian soon noticed that the bandage was not only caked in mud but soaked in blood also. "Can you… take the bandage off?" At first she looked uncertain but gave a small nod and started fiddling with the knot at the end. After moments of her trying to untie it with only one hand to use Brian offered, "I can…I can get it." And started to work on the blood-crusted knot. He carefully started to unroll the cloth until it became so caked in blood he had to peel it off. Arin sucked in a quick breath of air and pulled back her arm in pain as he unwound the cloth.

"I'm sorry," he said, feeling bad for hurting her. She slowly held her arm out to him again so he could continue. Finally the long strip of cloth was off and Brian studied her wound in shock and amazement. Parts of the wound were scabbed and seemed to be healing fairly well but near the edges small flaps of dead skin hung pale and limp off her arm.

"What did this to you?" Judging by the look the girl gave him, he knew he should have been asking 'who' instead of 'what'. Tears welled in her eyes again as she looked at Brian; he could do something like this to her if he wanted to. She was too exhausted to fight back and no one would come to her rescue out here.

"Umm… I think I might have some antiseptic back home and we can boil some water to clean the bandage off," he said starting to wrap her arm with the cloth. He stood back up and helped her up, noting how cold her hands were. Brian gradually quickened their pace, keeping a sharp eye on the girl if she showed any signs that she was having a hard time keeping up. Finally, they reached the lake and the girl seemed to brighten up at this.

_Now Matt will find me, just like he promised. _She thought, feeling a tingle of hope enter her heart. She looked out over the lake; it seemed big enough to see by air. Brian started to lead her along the edge of the lake until he reached his campsite, a thick wall of sticks woven together and plastered with mud, leaned against a giant rock with a small doorway on one side.

"Home, sweet home."

_Author's Note: _Phew! This was a long chapter, hopefully a meaningful one too! Now you see how the stories are connected. But there is more to come! So stick around for another chapter!


	12. Chapter 12

**The Night Before the Sunrise**

_Chapter 12_

Arin stared at the tiny shack before her, already studying how to possibly break down the walls to get out if necessary. She looked back to Brian. He was staring at the small shelter too, but his eyes were glazed as if he were caught in memories. She lowered her gaze to her mud-caked sneakers and let him get caught in his memories. Her uncontrollable nervous fidgeting caused him to be brought back before long.

"I can get you something to eat and drink now." He said feeling almost embarrassed for getting carried away by his thoughts. He had been thinking about what he had just done. This girl was sort of messed up and so far was very unpredictable. He wasn't sure but he thought she might have some sort of mental disorder most likely caused by something she had gone through… I was obvious she had gone through something terrible. Brian started to lead the girl over to his shelter and opened the door and crouched in.

"It's really not much but it's bigger than it looks from the outside." He said and offered the girl a seat on his sleeping bag. Arin took it, thankful that the boy left the door open. Brian took the big pot he used to boil water and poured some of the water in it into his cup for her. "The water is clean, I boiled it this morning." He said and handed it to the girl; she whispered a nearly silent 'thanks' and gulped it down. Brian thought briefly and then ducked through the door.

He pulled his almost homemade ladder up to the tallest part of the rock that made up most of his shelter. The ladder was just a pine tree that had fallen over that Brian had stripped of all but a few layers of strong branches that made up the footholds. At the top of his rock he found the flat place where he dried some of the meat to make jerky. These were from a deer he had caught four days ago; he couldn't save all the meat so he made about a pound of it into jerky. He would have to hunt for something tonight for himself and the girl.

Inside the shelter, Arin cautiously snooped around. She examined the general area; he had a sleeping bag, a large quilt made of what she thought was deer skin, a backpack full of who knows what, a small fire-pit lined with stones, a pile of weapons, and a few pots shoved up under the area under between the sandy dirt and the rock. She crawled to the pile of weapons and lifted a big bow to see what was under it: a spear tipped with a sharpened stone. She gasped as she heard Brian coming back in and replaced herself back to her original position.

"Here," he said handing her a bunch of strips of dried meat, "It's the only thing I have for food at the moment… it's kind of like beef jerky." He continued and took a bite from the handful he had. Arin tasted it and felt her stomach growl for food as she did. She ate all that he had given her; wary of how Brian seemed to be studying her as she did. _What if he's like Pete?_ Arin thought, suddenly realizing that Pete could have followed her this entire way out. _Oh God… what if Pete found me here? _The questions flooded her head so much that she forgot about how Brian's eyes traced over her, slowly learning about her as much as he could.

Brian had learned this trick with animals out here. He had learned their behaviors and what certain signs meant, and as far as he had studied the girl for this long it was working for her too. She was terrified, it was easy to see, but she was acting more skittish than any animal he had ever seen out here. _People were like animals, just more complex. They had more thoughts and could create ideas and, in the girl's case, more fears, _Brian thought. _Only most animals were a curious before scared, this girl clearly wasn't. _

Brian shook his thoughts away; he had already lost some of the work he had planned on getting done today. He had to get started now.

"Your arm…" He said quickly and started digging through the backpack, "Antiseptic, you can clean your arm out with that and clean the… bandage in some hot water." He set out a bottle labeled 'rubbing alcohol' and a rag.

"I can start the fire… um, could you go fill this with some water from the lake?" He asked her, holding out the smaller of the two metal pots he had. The girl quickly nodded and ducked out of the shelter. Brian watched her go, stirring up the embers of this morning's fire with a stick.

Arin raced eagerly out into the open space. She walked slowly down to the edge of the lake, glancing around as if expecting something to scare her. The complete lack of movement of anything in the forest around her calmed her slightly. She let her shoulders hang down as she kneeled down next to the water. Emotions involuntarily rose inside her and she tried to dry the tears that collected in her eyes. She scooped up the water from the surface, glancing at it as she turned to get back up and seeing the small clumps of algae that floated in it.

_I've been drinking out of the river and have been fine so far. Besides it's being boiled. _She forced herself to think. She sighed, closing her eyes for a moment and whipping away the tears that fell from them. She dumped the water back out and held the pot completely underwater and got most of it from a deeper, cleaner level of the water. She waited for her eyes to dry and watched the ripples from the disturbed water fade out to the middle of the glassy lake.

Brian leaned out the door to grab a small log from the pile he had made and paused to watch the girl as she walked down the light slope of the sand to the edge of the lake. He felt around for two logs, never taking his eyes off her as she kneeled in the sand. Brian had been studying her endlessly since he had first seen her. She slumped down, clearly exhausted, and Brian hoped it wasn't because of him chasing after her like he had done. He honestly pitied her. A boy who had been lost in the Canadian wilderness for three years felt sorry for this small girl who seemingly feared almost everything around her who was now in the exact situation he was.

Brian wondered what she thought of him. He knew she was scared of him but didn't know if she maybe felt bad for him too. He quickly pulled himself back into the shelter as the girl turned around to come back. He prayed she hadn't seen him watching her; she would really be scared of him then. He acted as if he hadn't moved as she came back in, timidly handing him the pot.

"Thanks," he said quietly. The girl resumed her place across from him on the sleeping bag. He put the pot on the new logs he had just put in the fire and poked at the embers, trying to hide how nervous he felt. "You can wash out your arm now; I'll help you get your bandage off if you need it." He offered. The girl nodded silently, keeping her eyes on the ground as if ashamed of something. Brian slid himself closer to her and untied the cloth around her arm, being careful not to hurt her like last time. He placed the cloth into the now steaming water in the pot and dipped the rag into it.

He paused, not sure whether he should give it to the girl and let her wash it herself, or if he should help her. The girl was still just staring silently to the ground, holding her arm out; seeming to barely be paying attention to what was going on around her.

"This might hurt a little," he warned quietly, and pressed the cloth against her arm. Arin didn't move but Brian felt her get tense with the pain. Arin bit the inside of her lip to keep from showing her pain. It quickly faded as the water cooled; it was the heat that caused the pain not the water itself.

Brian felt himself tense in fear of hurting the girl. He gently brushed away the dried blood around the wound and the mud that had seeped through the bandage. The wound reddened with the heat and water and Brian was especially delicate with her arm after the water softened the area around it. He silently prayed that washing it wouldn't make the wound start to bleed again. Once he was done with the water he wetted the cloth with some of the alcohol.

"I'm sorry but this is probably going to sting." He cautioned and dabbed the wound lightly with the cloth. The sting brought back memories of when Matt had cleaned her arm like this. It didn't hurt so much today but the memories of the night with Pete and being away from Matt, the one person who she trusted, made it just as painful on the inside. Before she knew it, Brian was done. He pulled the boiling pot off the fire and set in down in the sand next to the fire pit. She watched him fish out the long string of cloth with a small knife that seemed to come out of nowhere.

"I'll hang this out on a branch to dry." He stated and ducked through the entrance. He made sure to put it in an easily visible place. He hadn't told her yet but he was actually leaving the girl soon to go hunting.

_I have to feed her somehow and hunting is the only way…_He thought, returning to the shelter.

"I'll help you put that back on, it should be dry by the time I get back." He said looking the girl in the eyes. "I've got to go hunting to get our dinner so I'll be gone for an hour or two." Arin looked up at him finally, not hiding the confused and almost concerned feelings in her eyes. "You… you won't leave, will you?" The girl's eyes jumped from him to the door to her feet and back to him again before she answered.

"No."

"Okay… thank you. Uh, you can just stay here and… relax. You seem tired."

Arin looked away from him after the comment, feeling almost ashamed of herself for letting him see right through her like that. "Okay…" she whispered. Brian started gathering his smaller bow and arrow set, his hatchet, and a leather sack to keep the berries he planned on picking in.

"Bye," He mumbled as he exited the shelter. He had thought his decision over heavily but figured he didn't really have a choice. He couldn't just let both of them go hungry, but he couldn't take her hunting with him; they wouldn't catch anything because the girl wouldn't be used to Brian's method of hunting and would probably accidentally scare everything away. Besides, Brian didn't think a girl would really want to see a rabbit or a bird die. He quickly found the small patch of berries he picked and ate regularly. They were sour but added a little to a pot of fool bird stew. He filled the pouch he had and then went into his hunting mode: completely focused with no thought.

After and hour and a half of hunting and two cleanly shot fool birds Brian returned to the shelter. He truthfully didn't know what to expect when he got there. He slid the door open slowly and as silently as possible. He peered in and smiled at what he saw. The girl was sleeping peacefully on his sleeping bag, coiled into a tiny ball and breathing slowly and calmly. He had hoped this would have happened. The girl was a nervous wreck to say the least, sleep would help and then Brian got some time to get some work done.

"You still haven't told me you're name." Brian told the sleeping girl as he walked out of the shelter still smiling.

_Author's Note: _Mwa ha ha! Now you finally see how that big huge long story leads into hatchet… more to come next time!


	13. Chapter 13

**The Night Before the Sunrise**

_Chapter 13_

Arin felt herself being shaken gently and she shivered in the cool air. She sat up sharply and tried to see the space around her. All she saw was blackness and without warning, a voice broke the silence around her.

"Hey," A boy said. Arin's heart pounded as she heard the word, she screamed and kicked a blanket off of her. She instinctively backed away from where the voice had come from and her eyes adjusted in the light. A silhouette formed in front of her before her eyes in the pale flickering light of a small fire.

Arin screamed as she hit a log wall behind her. The silhouette approached her closer and she through herself to the other side of the small room. As she struggled to get away from the boy she raked the dirt bellow her, frantic to get away. She felt searing pain shoot up her right hand and she pulled it away. She had accidentally stuck her hand in the coals of the burning fire. She held her burned hand with the other and gasped lightly from the pain. Her panicked eyes shot up to the boy.

"Are you okay? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." He said, his voice soft and calm. "I just… thought you might want something to eat." Brian said. Memory suddenly flooded Arin's mind and she felt herself blush as her heart slowed down. Arin timidly crawled back to the sleeping bag and sat down, brushing off the hair that fell down in front of her face. She gripped her arm tightly; she had burned her right arm, which was already injured from Pete. A shiver was sent up her spine from his name alone.

"Are you alright?" Brian asked slowly pulling himself toward the girl. He had waited as long as he possibly could to wake her up but finally the hunger in his own stomach had forced him to wake her. He knew she would be hungry. He had imagined something happening but never the girl burning herself. Arin nodded shamefully.

"How bad is it?" He asked scooting closer. She held out her hand for him to examine. When Brian felt her hand it was still warm from the fire's heat and was starting to form small blisters but otherwise was just red. "Does it hurt that badly? I can go get some water; you can soak your hand in that… it might help if you want it." Arin nodded again, for the first time looking straight at Brian as he looked at her. "Okay, I'll got get some."

The boy smiled, grabbed a small pot, and left out the door. Arin sat there silently; surprised to find herself thinking of how calming the boy's smile was. She almost felt bad for thinking that and begged Matt to forgive her in her head, after he had been so good to her, saved her from Pete. The thought of him brought her sadness back with a cold furry. Brian came back with the pot filled with cool water, disrupting Arin's thoughts. He handed her the pot and she dunked her hand in it gratefully. The burn in her hand felt strange compared to the cool lonely feeling she felt around her. She never thought anyone could feel so alone while sitting only a few feet from someone.

"Did you want to eat anything?" Brian asked her as he replaced a pot back onto the fire. "It's not much but it's food. I'm not sure you would really want to know what it is... did you want to try some?" Brian asked. Arin nodded. Brian was starting to figure out that he was going to be the one doing most of the talking for a while. He scooped out one of the birds and put into another pot and handed it to the girl with a fork.

Arin smelled the food before she saw it. The fragrance of it made her realize how terribly hungry she really was. When she looked at the food in the pot, her mind surprisingly didn't change much. The contents of the pot were what looked to be a very small chicken with some sort of jellylike sauce.

"Think of it as wild chicken with berry sauce." Brian said, already helping himself to the other bird. "It usually helps." Arin poked at the meat and gingerly started to eat it. Eating it slowly only made her hunger worse and she soon couldn't help digging in and finishing the entire thing. After she was done, her stomach almost hurt from being empty so long. She mumbled a quiet thank you and set the pot down in the sand next to the fire. Brian watched Arin nervously pick small clumps of mud and burrs out of her hair.

Frightened thoughts ran through Arin's head as she looked through the small smoke hole at the top of the shack. Light no longer came through it, she would be staying here for the night. She glanced around her, purposely avoiding Brian's eyes. She started to panic as her mind let her absorb the situation. Spending the night, with a boy, alone, in the forest, with only one bed. _Why? Please, God, Matt, someone, save me from this life... _Everywhere she went, Arin felt like she was in danger and at risk of being hurt again and again. Brian watched her eyes as they bounce around nervously.

"You can have the bed," He said quietly after only embers were left of the fire. He took out a rabbit skin blanket from his backpack and pulled it close to him, "I'll sleep over here." He glanced at her from the other side of the fire, glowing coals the only thing lighting up the small room. He started to settle down into the sand under the blanket and watched the girl do the same. She curled herself into a tiny ball and shut her eyes, clearly exhausted. Brian watched her sleep, her face twisting with fear occasionally with a nightmare as she pulled herself closer into the little ball. Finally after almost an hour she seemed to find a peaceful sleep. Satisfied, Brian rolled over and let himself drift away to sleep.


End file.
